Germany as viewed by other Member States. EPIN Working Paper No. 33, 21 June 2012

Scharioth, Nicolas and Tzogopouos, George N. and Niglia, Federico and Mestres, Laia and Freitas, João Gil and Fernandes, Sandra, and Demesmay, Claire and Rittelmeyer, Yann-Sven and Primatarova, Antoinette. and Nicolescu, Agnes and Kiss, László J. and Algieri, Franco. and Král, David and Lada, Agnieszka and Kundnani, Hans and Jensen, Peter Munk and Korhonen, Kaisa. (2012) Germany as viewed by other Member States. EPIN Working Paper No. 33, 21 June 2012. [Working Paper]

Abstract

Germany’s problem is not so much that it is generally right about the need for fiscal discipline but that it has to learn how to be right: this is the most difficult issue to manage from a political standpoint. This EPIN (European Policy Institutes Network) paper brings together contributions from a cross-section of EU member states and the Gallup World Poll survey on the question of how Germany is being viewed at this time of economic and political crisis. The conclusions, subtitled: The Narcissism of Small Differences is a refreshingly candid and insightful analysis of current European relations, noting that Germany’s current weight reflects only the conjuncture of extraordinary domestic and international economic factors. How Germany and the other member states behave towards one another now will have implications for all long after this moment has passed.